A Robot Gave Me a Manicure for Valentine’s Day
Meet Clockwork’s newest tech invention, a robot that paints your nails in less than 10 minutes
I was looking for a fresh and festive manicure for Valentine’s Day anyway, so why not try?
I was immediately a fan of this idea, as the “minicure” is said to only take around ten minutes. This is huge because I don’t understand how anyone enjoys sitting at a salon for 45 minutes getting their nails done. We’ve got things to do. Do note though, that this is strictly painting. There was no filing, shaping, or lotion hand massages (which I did miss a little).
Clockwork is a San Francisco-based nail tech start-up that just launched its first location in New York City, inside Rockefeller Center. Their mission is to make everyday tasks more timely and efficient. We all want beautifully painted nails, so why does it have to be such a chore? This nail-tech bot is designed to make our lives easier.
Before I sat down in front of the machine/bot, I was asked to pick a polish color. They currently have about ten options to choose from, all basic colors we know and love. I chose red (because of Valentine’s day, duh). The Clockwork associate who was “overseeing” the situation, then pulled out a tiny red dispenser of polish, almost like a small tube. She touched the screen on the bot to get started, and immediately, a cartridge door popped open. She placed the tube of the polish inside, almost looking similar to putting ink inside a printer.
How does the robot manicure work?
Once the ink was inside, I sat down and placed my hand into the machine. When the hand rest is pushed inside, a strap comes across to prevent your fingers from moving during the process. If it does detect movement, the machine will pause and restart. This was slightly frustrating at first, as the motion detectors are VERY sensitive. It ensures that your nails are painted precisely though, so I can’t complain. Each finger is placed within the machine, one at a time. It all went very smoothly, and only one finger required some human interaction (polish touch up). Once it was all complete, they simply dropped “quick dry” drops on my nails, and they were 90% dry by the time I walked out the door. I do wish there would have been a drying machine, but again, it’s all about time-saving.
So where and when is this available to everyone? We’re on the edge of our seats just like you. Via their website, Clockwork has officially announced they will be in select Target stores in San Fransico starting February 20th. It’s already too easy to spend all my time and money at Target, and now I can have a robot paint my nails there? I may never leave.
They plan to keep expanding locations, so keep an eye on their site and let us know if you get a chance to try the ‘minicure’ on Instagram.